The institute admits students into B. Tech, M. Tech and Ph.D. programs.[5] The classes are held in Bhubaneswar city. The academic session begins in July each year. Currently, Prof. Sujit Roy is the acting director of the institute till a regular and full-time is appointed.[6]

Establishing an IIT in Odisha was a long standing demand for several decades. As the state ranked at the bottom in terms of centrally funded academic and research institutions, there were strong allegations of Congress led central government neglect.[7][8] There were several incidents of protest, both locally in Odisha,[9][10][11][12][13][14] the National Students Union of India (NSUI),[15] and eminent nonresident Indian academics. An organization called Agamee Odisha was formed, that spearheaded mass agitation throughout the state.[13][14] There also have been stray incidents of violence related to the issue of Odisha's neglect.[16] Politicians including the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, cast this festering issue as a sign of severe neglect of the state by the UPA government in New Delhi.[17][18][19][20][21][22] In May 2007, this became a major issue in the Indian parliament.[23][24][25][26] The opposition NDA staged a walk-out in the Indian parliament, accusing the ruling UPA of neglecting the state's economic development.[27][28][29] Sections of the media reported that the Congress party led UPA government had been embarrassed by this issue.[30] Eventually, the HRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh relented, leading to the inception of IIT Bhubaneswar.[31]

The birth of the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, came on the 60th anniversary of the country’s Independence on 15 August 2007 when Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, made the announcement about the expansion of IIT system in the country.[32][33] Further, the National Development Council of the Planning Commission, in its 54th meeting held on 19 December 2007, approved the proposal as part of the approval process of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007–12).[34][35][36]

The actual birth of the Institute was announced by the Minister of Human Resource Development Shri. Arjun Singh in a press conference on 28 March 2008.[37] The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Government of India, vide its Order dated 9 May 2008 decided that IIT Kharagpur would mentor the setting up of this new IIT for 2–3 years.[38] It was further decided that the Director of the mentor IIT i.e. IIT Kharagpur, would be the mentor Director of the new IIT[39] pending selection of regular Director and the Chairman, Board of Governors (BOG) of IIT Kharagpur would also be the Chairman of the BOG of this new mentored IIT Bhubaneswar.

The Union Cabinet, at its meeting held on 17 July 2008 approved setting up eight new IITs including IIT Bhubaneswar at a cost of 760 crore (US$120 million) per IIT.[40] The Cabinet also approved creation of the post of Director and Registrar along with 30 Faculty per year for each of the new IITs. It was also decided that that pending amendment of the Institute of Technology Act, 1961 for inclusion of IIT Bhubaneswar as an Institute of National Importance,[41] the Institute would start functioning under aegis of Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar Society to be registered under the Societies’ Registration Act, 1860 (Act XXI of 1860).[42]

Papers were filed on 19 July 2008 with the Registrar of Societies Odisha, Cuttack for registration of IIT Bhubaneswar Society and the society was registered on 22 July 2008.[43]

IIT Bhubaneswar became the first amongst the eight new IITs to become operational with a sanctioned intake of 40 students each in the disciplines of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Classes for the first batch of students started from the campus of IIT Kharagpur at Kharagpur, the mentor Institute for IIT Bhubaneswar on 23 July 2008 with admission of 95 students.[44] IIT BHUBANESWAR became an Institute of National Importance from 29 June 2012 with notification of Amendment in the Institutes' of Technology Act, 1961 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, (Department of Higher Education)Government of India published in the Gazette of India dated 2 July 2012.

The process of selection of Faculty and the Registrar were initiated through issue of advertisement on all India basis. Shri Bata Kishore Ray from MHRD Govt. of India joined as the first employee and first Registrar of the Institute on 31 December 2008.[45][46]

To finalise the site for the permanent campus of IIT Bhubaneswar, the MHRD had set up a Site Identification Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri Ashok Takhur, Additional Secretary to the Government of India which visited Odisha during 24–25 December 2008.[47] After visiting four sites proposed by the Government of Odisha i.e. Banki, Ramdaspur in Cuttack district and Gayabandh and Jatni in Khordha district, the Committee recommended the site at Jatni.[48] The recommendation of the Committee was approved by the Government of India on 13 January 2009. The Government of Odisha agreed to provide 936 acres (3.79 km2)[49] of land free of cost out of which 518 acres (2.10 km2) had been given physical possession on 10 February 2009.[50] The State Government also agreed to provide other facilities including a four-lane road from National Highway No.5 ( Kolkata-Chennai) to the IIT.[51][52][53][54] Prof M Chakraborty, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur joined as the Director of IIT Bhubnaeswar on 19 May 2009. He took over the rein from Prof D. Acharya, the earlier Director of the Institute. IIT Bhubaneswar became operational in the city of Bhubaneswar on 22 July 2009 with shifting 2008 batch of students from IIT Kharagpur and admission of 117 new students in 2009. The Institute started functioning at IIT Kharagpur's Extension Centre built in 1998 in Bhubaneswar.[55]

The Government of Odisha has allotted about 936 acres of land of Government land for permanent campus of the institute. In addition, the State Government is acquiring about 16 acres of private land at its own cost to make the land contiguous. The Foundation Stone of the permanent campus at Arugul, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar was laid on 12 February 2009. Construction of 4-lane access road from the National Highway 5 and provision of water and electric supply to the campus by the State Government have made considerable progress. The Government of Odisha has also agreed to provide 75 acres of land along the Puri-Konark coastline to set up an Innovation Centre for Climate Change.[56] The site near Jatni Railway Station on the East Coast Railway is 25 kilometres from Biju Patnaik Airport Bhubaneswar. The land is picturesque with Barunai Hill on one side and a reserve forest nearby. The ste is at 20° 10' N and 85° 42' E. A total of 935 acres (3.78 km2) of land has been allocated towards the self-contained campus for 10,000 students and 1,100 faculty. A science park is being set up as a part of this institution to support industry oriented research activities.[57] The institute is expected to start operating in its new campus at Aragul by the start of the academic year 2015-16. The campus construction began on 14 August 2011, Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the IIT campus construction at Aragul village near Jatni.[58][59]

IIT Bhubaneswar is the first IIT to set up a separate marine campus in 2011 for conducting research in rising sea levels, ecology, disaster management, marine ecosystems, fishery development, and other areas. This campus, which will be a part of the School of Earth, Ocean and Environment Sciences, will be set up near Chilka lake. It will have educational facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students.[60][61][62][63]

Several other universities and research institutions are either present or being established in the vicinity, including AIIMS Bhubaneswar, NISER, IIIT, XIMB, one of the Indian government's proposed National Universities of international calibre,[64] an AIIMS-like medical institution, and the Institute of Physics. NISER's campus is 2 km away from the IIT. Other institutions, such as Sri Sri University, premier law school National Law University Odisha, as well as the world's biggest academic institution, Vedanta University, will be in the neighboring places of Cuttack and Puri respectively.[65][66] An advantage of this IIT is its location at Bhubaneswar, an emerging education hub, that is being promoted as an Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) by the government.[67] A total of 40 km2 of land has been allocated for the purpose, out of which about 60% will be devoted to research and development.[68] An estimated 780 crore (US$120 million) will be invested by the Indian government within the next few years in order to develop the institute.

The Odisha state government is constructing a four-lane expressway directly from the National Highway No. 5 (a part of the Golden Quadrilateral) to this new IIT for increased connectivity. Khurda Rd railway station is 4 km away from the campus, and the Biju Patnaik airport is 25 km away. A new international airport is being constructed even closer to the IIT campus at a distance of 12 km. Thus, IIT Bhubaneswar is the best connected between all the upcoming IITs, and better than some existing ones.[69]

Other advantages of IIT Bhubaneswar include the presence of major steel, power, petrochemical, and other heavy industries, major ports including the one at Paradip, as well as the emergence of Bhubaneswar as one of the IT hubs of the nation.[70] Major tourist attractions include the Konark Sun Temple, Puri sea beach, Chilka lagoon, gorges, a waterfalls.

The School[72] offers Ph.D. program in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The School is in the process of offering of Joint M. Tech-Ph.D. programme in Material Science & Engineering in association with other Schools to motivate researchers and scientists to build their career in academics and industries.[73]

The School offers undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in the area of Civil Engineering and doctoral programmes in Geotechnical, Environmental, Water Resource, Structural, Traffic & Transportation Engineering and proposes to foray into Architecture, Urban Design, Planning in future.

This new School has been set up to impart state-of-the-art education and training on both fundamentals and applied aspects of Metallurgical and Minerals Engineering relevant to the rich resources of metals and minerals in the region. Currently Masters and PhD programs have been opened for the school.

The School[77] currently offers doctoral research avenues and is in the process of offering Joint M. Tech.-Ph.D. The programs have been designed to impart state-of-the-art education and training on both fundamental and applied aspects of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences. Recently renowned Indian scientist Prem Chand Pandey joined as a faculty in the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences . [78][79]

The central library, which started functioning in January 2010, is a 300 square feet (28 m2) room with a collection of 23,000 text books. In addition, the mentor institute, IIT Kharagpur, provides IIT Bhubaneswar with access to its online resources such as e-databases, e-journals and abstract indexing services.[80]

IIT Bhubaneswar plans to interact with the industry. It encourages its faculty to provide paid technical consulting services to industry. As Odisha ranks among the top two states in India in receiving private investment, the state is poised for rapid industrial growth, creating a strong need for such partnership with research institutions. IIT Bhubaneswar is also trying to establish long-term tie-up with industries which could work with its students in institute’s facility center. WMG, University of Warwick will help IIT-Bhubaneswar set up high-end research laboratories on its main campus. IIT-Kharagpur, the mentoring institute of IIT-Bhubaneswar, recently entered into a joint venture with the university in this regard.[81]

Hostel facilities to students have been provided through a new 200 capacity Dr. A. N. Khosla Hall of Residence of IIT Kharagpur near its Extension Center. In addition, the Institute has hired around 60 HIG Flats at SBI Colony Kesura for additional hostel facilities for around 300 students. While the 3rd and 4th year male students have been accommodated in the A. N. Khosla Hall of Residence, all the girl students, research scholars and 1st and 2nd year students have been accommodated in SBI colony Kesura. The Institute has also provided housing facilitites to 40 faculty and staff.

The academic year is divided into two semesters, a spring semester and an autumn semester. Between these two regular semesters, the academic year also includes a shorter summer quarter, during which some courses are offered. The institution follows the credit-based system of performance evaluation. The credits allocated to each course depends on the total number of contact hours, including lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions. Each course is usually worth three credits. The typical course load per semester is 21-24 credits for undergraduate students.

IIT Bhubaneswar presently offers undergraduate degrees in four technical disciplines and will be starting one more course B.Tech in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the academic year 2014-2015.

Admission to these programmes is through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), taken by students seeking admission into the IITs after completing 12 years of schooling. As of 2014, the total undergraduate student intake every year is 180, with 40 students in each of the above disciplines and 20 in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. The plan is to have 2,500 students within 3–4 years, which will expand to 10,000 students within 15 years.[73]

The B. Tech. degree is based on a four-year program comprising eight semesters. The first year of the B.Tech. curriculum has common courses from various departments. At the end of the first year, an option to change departments is given to meritorious students on the basis of their performance in the first two semesters. From the second year onwards, the students take courses offered exclusively by their departments that are known as depth courses. In addition to these, the students takes inter-disciplinary courses known as breadth courses, including courses in humanities and social sciences, and management and information technology. During the 7th semester, undergraduate students undergo co-curricular practical training in Indian industry.

Alma Fiesta: Annual Socio-Cultural festival held in Mid-January. "IIT BBS SNSMT Social Change Maker Award" the flagship event of the festival is attended by many reputed institutes from throughout the country addressing many social and global issues. This prestigious award was won by Ipsit Bibhudarshi and Barsha Behera of IGIT Sarang for the year 2012.[83][84][84]

Prof. S. Tripathy, elected as Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences for year 2013

Prof. U C Mohanty, Visiting Professor in the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences has received Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) Life Time Excellence Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of "Atmospheric Science & Technology".

Dr. Rajan Jha, Assistant Professor of Physics from School of Basic Sciences has been awarded and selected as an Associates of Indian Academy Of Sciences, Bangalore.

Dr. Shyamal Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, School of Basic Sciences, is awarded "Indo-Australia Early Career Science and Technology Visiting Fellowship 2012-2013 by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA)".

Dr S.R.Samantaray, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Sciences bags "IEEE PES Technical committee Prize Paper Award" for the year 2012. The award is selected among the most valuable contribution in IEEE Transactions in Power System Dynamic Performance (PDPS). The award will be given in the IEEE PES General Meeting scheduled to be held during July 2012 at San Diego, CA, USA."

Paper entitled "Pushover Analysis of MDOF Systems : Explanation, Demonstration and Performance Study" by Saumyasuchi Das and Sekhar Chandra Dutta (published in the Civil Engineering Journal of IEI, Vol. 91, August 2010 issue) has been selected for Jai Krishna Award to be presented in Indian Engineering Congress for being considered as best paper in Earthquake Engineering.

Dr. Akhilesh Barve and Mr. Kamlakant Muduli School of Mechanical Sciences have been awarded for Excellent Paper award by ICIMS 2011 committee, Singapore for his paper "Challenges to Environmental Management Practices in Indian Mining Industries" in International Conference on Innovation, Management and Service, ICIMS 2011, Singapore, 16–18 September 2011

Dr. S.R.Samnataray, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Sciences has won the prestigious "SAMANTA CHANDRASEKHAR AWARD for the year 2010" by Orissa Bigyana Academy, DST, Govt. of Orissa.

Dr. D. Sahoo received Best Paper Award on Regional Economics at the International Workshop of INFER, Orieans, France.

Prof. P. Rama Rao, distinguished materials scientist and the Chairman of the Board of Governors, IIT BBS has been chosen for the Padma Vibhushan Award by the Govt. of India on 26th Jan. 2011.